Slide buckle



J. R. LA VlGNE SLIDE BUCKLE April 28, 1942.

la zz/ April 28', l1942. J. R. LA vlGNE SLIDE BUCKLE Patented Apr. 28, 1942 SLIDE BUCKLE Jerome R. La Vigne, Waterbury, Conn., assignor to TheWatcrbury Buckle Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 10, 1940, Serial No. 328,811

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in buckles and more particularly to improvements in slide-buckles, i. e., buckles in which one member slides with respect to another member to grip ea strap or the like.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a superior slide-buckle so constructed and arranged as to combine eifectiveness of holding power with low cost for manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a superior slide-buckle so constructed and arranged as to be assembleable with ease and rapidity.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a superior slide-buckle so constructed and arranged that a strap or the like may be attached to one of the members while the same is conveniently available and prior to the assembly of such member with a companion or complemental buckle member.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art from th'e present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art and which are not claimed in I any separate application.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a slidebuckle embodying the present invention and shown as organized with a strap and a buttonloop suitable for use in connection with overalls;

Fig. 2 is a broken edge-view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a broken rear-view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a view in longitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 but on a larger scale;

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4 but showing the slide-member as tilted with respect to the body-member as during assembly or to release the strap;

Fig. 6 is a broken perspective view showing the body-member attached to the fixed-end of a strap and the free-end of the said strap threaded through the slide-member, the two said members being in position just preparatory to assembly;

Fig. 7 is a broken perspective View showing the next assembly step in which the slide-member is threaded through the slot in the body-member;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the slide-member, detached; and

Fig. 9 is a similar view of the body-member, detached.

The particular slide-buckle herein chosen 'for the purpose of illustrating the present invention includes two main buckle-members Hi and I. For convenience of description the buckle-member IO may be designated as the body-member and the buckle-member ll, for the same reason, may be designated as the slide-member.

The body-member l comprises a top-bar |2 functi-oning as a strap-gripping portion, a bottom-bar |3 and two integral corresponding side- The said top-bar l2, bottom-bar |3 and side-bars 4-14 define a slot 15 which is adapted to receive the slide-member l and portions of a strap, as will hereinafter appear.

As will be observed especially well in Figs. 6 and i 9 the top-bar 12 of the body-member IO has its central portion rearwardly offset and the integral side-bars Ill- Id extend rearwardly with respect to both the said top-bar 12 and the bottombar |3. The body member IO may be Conveniently struck up from sheet metal and preferably the lower edge of the bottom-bar |3 is formed with a series of rearwardly-and-upwardly-extending clamping-fingers 16 which are designed and adapted to clamp the fixed-end |1 of a strap |8 against the opposed rear face of the bottombar |3 of the body-member IO as is especially well shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The slide-member ll may be conveniently struck up from sheet metal and includes a topbar 19, a bottom-bar 20 and two side-bars 2 |-2 integrally uniting the said top-bar |9 and bottom-bar 20 at their respective opposte ends. The said top-bar Is, bottom-bar 20 and side-bars 2l-2I d'efine a slot 22 into which upwardly projects a strap-gripping portion in the form of a gripping-tongue 23 formed integral with the bottom-bar 20. Preferably and as shown, the sidebars 2I--2l of the slide-member Il are rearwardly bowed and the gripping-tongue 23 is reversely or forwardly bowed. i

The slide-member ll is sufiiciently narrow to fit between the respective inner faces of the sidebars |4-l4 of the body-member I 0 and hence is sufficiently narrow to be extended into the slot 55 inthe said body-member.

In assembling the buckle-members I!! and ll with each other and with a strap such as the strap 18, the fixed-end l'l of the strap is first inserted downwardly between the back face of the bottom-bar l3 of the body-member IO and the front faces of the various clamping-fingers I 6 thereof. The said clamping-fingers are bent forwardly so as to firmly grip the fixed-end |1 of the strap prior to assembling the slide-member II With either the said strap or with the bodymember IIl. The free-end 24 of the strap It may now be threaded upwardly through the slot 22 in the slide-member II as is indicated by full lines in Figs. 6 and 7. The top-bar IQ of the slidem'ember II may now be inserted from front to rear through the slot I5 in the body-member I in the manner indicated in Figs. 5 and '7, after which the free-end 24 of the strap I8 may be threaded downwardly between the top-bar I2 of the body-member Ill and the top-bar I9 of the slide-member II as is indicated by full lines in Fig. 5 and by broken lines in Fig. 7. The freeend 24 of tlfe strap I8 may now be led upwardly rearwardly of the top-bar I9 of the slide-member I I and attached to whatever garment is desired.

Usually and prior to being inserted through the slot 22 in the slide-member II as above described, the free-end 24 of the strap I 8 will be threaded through the Suspension-loop 25 of a button-loop 25 or the like which may be hooked,

so to speak, over a button of a garment such, for instance, as the button commonly employed upon bibs of overalls.

When tension or weight is applied to the button-loop 26, the slide-member II will both tilt and slide from the position in which it is indicated in Figs. 5 and 7 into substantially the position in which it is shown particularly well in Fig. 4, with thel effect of firmly clamping the adj acent portion of the strap IB.

The portion of the free-end 24 of the strap I8 adjacent the body-member ID and the slidemember I I will now be clamped against slippage both by deflection and by a pinching action occurringcbetween. the bottom-bar 20 of the slidemember II` and the bottom-bar I3 of the bodymember II] as well as by the gripping-tongue 23 of the slide-member I I which will serve to measurably deflectv the strap I8 against the upper forward corner of the top-bar I2 of the bodymember Ill, as is especially well shown in Fig. 4.

Should it be desired to release the grip of the slide-buckle upon the free-end 24 of the Strap I8 for the purpose of either raising or lowering the button-loop 26, the slide-member II may be slid downwardly with respect to the body-member I O. or may be tilted into the position indicated in Figs. 5 and 7 to thereby release the grip upon the Strap. By means'of the present invention, the slidebuckle may be assembled by merely inserting the slide-member I I through the slot I5 in the bodymember IO; thus obviating the need for permanent mechanical connection between the parts and with a consequent saving in cost of assembly.

Furthermore, by means of the present invention, the fixed end of a strap may be attached to the body-member Ii) prior to the assembly of the buckle, and while the said body-member is free of encumbrances with the obvious advantage of time and labor savings.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in a-ll respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meanng and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

l. A slide-buckle comprising: a first bucklemernber having two spaced-apart end-bars and two complemental side-bars which together with the said end-bars define a slot through the first buckle-member; a second buckle-member Cooperating with the said first buckle-member and also having two spaced-apart end-bars and two laterally-spaced-apart side-bars defining a slot through the second 'buckle-member; one of the said buckle-members being narrower than the slot in the other of said buckle-rnembers and extending through the last-mentioned slot between the side-bars bordering the same for sliding movement with respect to the other of said buckle-members; and one of the end-bars of one of the said buckle-members being provided with a gripping-tongue extending toward the other complemental end-bar and extending over the face of one of the end-bars of the other of said buckle-members to grip a strap therebetween.

2. A slide-buckle comprising: a first bucklemember having two spaced-apart end-bars and two complemental side-bars which together with the said end-bars define a slot through the first buckle-member; a second buckle-member coop-` erating with the said first buckle-member and also having two spaced-apart end-bars and two laterally-spaced-apart side-bars defining a slot through the second buckle-member; the said second buckle-mem'ber being narrower than the slot in the said first buckle-member and extending through the said slot between the side-bars bordering the same for sliding movement with respect to the said first buckle-member; and one of the end-bars of the said second buckle-member being provided with a g'rppng-tongue eX- tending toward the other end-bar of the second buckle-member and extending over the face of one of the end-bars of the said first buckle-member to grip a strap therebetween.

3. A slide-buckle comprising: a first bucklemember formed integrally of sheet metal and having a top-bar shaped to provide a Strap-gripping portion, a bottom-bar formed with bendable strap-gripping fingers, and two side-bars which together with the said topand bottom-bars define a slot through the first buokle-member; and a second buckle-member formed integrally of Sheet' metal and narrower than the slot through the said first buckle-member and extending through the said slot in the first buckle-member, the said second buckle-member also having a top-bar, a bottom-bar and two integral sidebars which together with the said topand bottom-bars define a slot through the second bucklemember; and the said second buckle-member being formed with a gripping-tongue extending upwardly from its bottom-bar and overlapping the top-bar of the said first buckle-member to grip the running-portion of a strap therebetween.

JEROME R. LA VIGNE. 

